Fatherhood
by Kinetic Dream
Summary: Yamato thought marriage was a big step, but he never expected to be so reluctant to be a parent. Struggling to cope with the impending changes, he turns to his own father for a new perspective.


Oh ho? A companion piece to one? two? possibly three of my other one shots? Could I actually be connecting my Adventure stories together for some dark, sinister purpose?

Nah.

Rated T to be safe, but there shouldn't be too much objectionable in here, just a married husband dealing with a drastic change in his life.

Digimon is owned by the fine folks at Toei Animation and Bandai. It is written with the express purposes of having fun, and not for profit. Have a blast.

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**Fatherhood**

The silverware clinked against one another as he carried them to the small table, the phone held against the crook of his shoulder as he listened to his best friend spew out the troubles he was having with Christmas lights. Yagami Taichi and Tachikawa Mimi had been living together for about ten months now, and they were certainly better for it. Tai's laid back attitude was rubbing off a bit on Mimi, making the usually high maintenance woman relax a little, and enjoy the simpler things in life. Mimi's constant expectations continued to encourage Tai to begin thinking ahead, something his own mother hadn't been able to pound through his thick skull.

"Just go somewhere a little cheaper then, I'm sure she won't mind," Ishida Yamato said with a grin to his friend's difficulty deciding if he should cut his losses with the lights and just go for the planned high class dinner, or blow forty dollars on lights, and make reservations at a slightly less extravagant restaurant. "She's a bit of a princess, sure, but I bet she'll be happy just to spend time with you."

There was a fair amount of background hiss as the wind whipped against the mouthpiece of Taichi's hunched form, the brunette mumbling, "You just don't get it, Matt…"

Blinking in surprise, Matt began to speak again, "Tai what are you talking about? Of course I understand?" However, he was only met with a slight drone in response, realizing too late that his friend had already ended the call. As the dial tone hummed in his ear, Yamato shrugged, hanging up his phone and turning his attention back to the table. He felt bad for Taichi, sure, but the fact that the bird-head had waited until the day before Christmas Eve; well it could only be his own fault, right? Besides, Matt's mind was elsewhere, namely on Ishida Sora, and her imminent arrival. Not to mention their own soon to be arrival.

Staring at the table, he let out a heavy sigh and made his way back into the den, sitting down on the couch and pressing two fingers against his forehead. Massaging the skin gently, his thoughts drifted to Sora and the baby. She was away at her mother's at the moment, though by now she had probably already left for the ride back, whereas he had been stuck working at the label and couldn't go with her. However, with the half-day that he had given himself today, it had given him more than enough time to begin to prepare tomorrow's meal. He was no master chef, but he had picked up enough tricks from his dad over the years to not only skate by, but impress on several occasions.

"Am, I ready to be a father?" he asked himself, the unanswerable question, stretching his arms out across the sofa as he stared up at the ceiling. He and Sora would be married for three years, come next spring, and would be adding to the family a month or two before that. When she had told him, he hadn't been too pleased with the revelation.

"What do you mean pregnant?" he snapped, narrowing his eyes and taking in the young tennis-star-turned-model as she shuffled her feet, her eyes seemingly glued to the floor as she played with the a tip of her auburn hair. "You mean, like, a baby?"

"Well I don't know any other way to be pregnant," Sora had mumbled, averting her eyes to the side, seemingly entranced with the chair in the den, her hand crossed in front of her, resting on her opposite hip. "I went to the doctor today and he told me that I was about a month along, and that I should take it easy for a little while, until the baby's born at least. Limited modeling, definitely no tennis, and maybe limiting my trips to other countries even as a guest. To say nothing of the diet restrictions he's trying to push on me."

Sliding his hands through his blonde hair, Matt paced back and forth in front of her, shaking his head and muttering curses under his breath, which certainly wasn't helping the young woman's already delicate mood at all. By the time he looked up again, Sora was well into tears, but he couldn't stop himself. "Sora, I can't do this, I'm not ready for this kind of responsibility!" There was a short silence between them, and Sora's frown quickly turned into a scowl as she walked up and stood on her toes, going eye to eye with him.

"Well you had better get ready, Ishida! We're married, and we're having this baby! No exceptions!" She punctuated each sentence, jabbing her finger into his chest even as her eyes burned and brimmed with tears. The sound of labored breathing echoed between them, seeming to fill the flat as they sweltered in the early summer heat.

He had eventually relented and apologized, supporting her and encouraging her. He had even played the part of a preparing father, going out with his wife to get things for their as of yet unborn child. Mimi and Jun had been ecstatic, when they heard, and Takeru had said that Hikari was much the same way, the couple overseas, working in several hotspots for the Associated Press as a dynamic duo; T.K. handling the stories while Kari took care of the photographs. Unfortunately, the youngest Yagami hadn't been able to come home to join in the festivities, but Inoue Yolie was more than willing to step in, and offer some advice of her own based on her experience with Ichijouji Ken.

Still, Yamato worked very hard to hide the doubt from his eyes, the uncertainty that he held in himself to fulfill this role which was going to be thrust upon him. It wasn't that he hadn't considered starting a family with Sora, they were a married couple after all, and children were on the agenda, but he had planned to be pushing thirty before considering it seriously. Kids were a lot of work too; diapers, constant attention, and then they grew up and started leaching money off of you at every turn. But even as he listed off the reasons children were a nuisance, he knew what the real issue was. Closing his eyes, he pondered the rest of the meal and when he would have to start cooking, before flipping open his cellphone.

"Sora, honey," he said with a small smile as she chirped a happy hello back at him. Apparently the visit had gone well. "Listen, I've got to meet up with someone, so I may not be home when you arrive, but I promise, I won't be out too long. See you when I'm back." He smiled, hanging up and closing his eyes as he tried to shake off the disappointment that he had heard in her voice. A week apart, and they both wanted to see each other badly, but he simply had to come to terms with this. Flipping his phone open again, he struggled to remember the number he wanted to dial, but finally got it right on the third try.

"Dad, it's Yamato. Can we meet up?"

Hiroaki glanced across the table at his oldest son, giving a concerned smile as the two continued to sit in silence. Something was bothering him; it didn't take a reporter to get that kind of scoop, however the boy wouldn't open up right out, as usual. The coffee in his mug had already started cooling off, Hiroaki working on his second, trying to deal with the usual silence that existed between the two of them. After all the excitement the two had been through together, with Matt going off and saving the world, twice, there was still a certain difficulty getting either of them to speak to each other.

Their living arrangement always seemed more like co-habitation than a son living with his father, with the revolving door of their comings and goings. Hiroaki had the news station, and for the longest time Matt had his band. Certainly, they spent ample time together, but those times when they were able to were few and far between, and it had carried over into Yamato's adult life. This was the first time that the two had gotten together since the wedding, almost three years prior. Sliding a hand through his graying hair, Hiroaki decided to finally break the ice.

"So. Sora must be coming back today," his voice was strained, clearly showing his discomfort with the entire situation, but he was willing to make an attempt. Matt simply nodded mutely, finally taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's cold," he muttered, getting to his feet and emptying the cup into the sink, only marginally overflowing with dishes, and poured himself a fresh cup. Holding the cup in his hands, he took another sip, seeming far more satisfied this time than he was previously. "Who told you she left in the first place?"

Hiroaki grinned, tapping the side of his head. "I still like to keep an eye on my boys. T.K.'s in the field, and I have contacts around the world keeping me filled in on the stories that he's covering, and what that Yagami girl is up to." Chuckling, he took a long sip of his own coffee. "Come to think of it, it's almost like you married a Yagami, Yuuko insists on being kept up to date on her little girl, and fills me in on what Sora tells her mother, which inevitably trickles down to her." With a smirk, he glanced up at Matt, "Hikari and Takeru are getting along grand, just so you know."

"Dad… I don't think I'm ready for all this," he whispered, clutching his mug tightly in his hands as he felt his frustration and the general sense of helplessness continue to build up inside him. "It was easy to decide to marry Sora, I love her, I really do. But this, this is something entirely different, it changes everything about our lives, and we've only begun to start living them. I'm," his voice cracked as a shudder ran up his spine, his eyes clenching shut as he hunched over his drink, sitting heavily on the smooth countertop. "I'm scared that it'll happen to us too and that I won't be able to be a good father."

Sighing, Hiroaki didn't move from his position at the table, well aware of what his son was talking about. There was no doubt in his mind that he felt just as strongly about Natsuko in the early days of their marriage. They had waited several years to have Matt and Takeru, but differing goals had eventually forced the family apart, though both parents were still on good terms with one another. Thinking for a long moment, he finally set his coffee aside and walked over to his son, leaning back against the counter beside him.

"There's no easy answer, Matt. The way we live now, it's different even than when you were growing up, everyone's off doing something and it puts a strain on our relationships. I can't tell you how to make things work between you and Sora if they start to go bad." Matt flinched as his father acknowledged the possibility that his life might fall apart after the baby was born. He certainly hadn't come here wanting to hear that from his father, and was already regretting his decision.

"But," Hiroaki continued, rubbing his son's back as he did, "if you're worried about what kind of father you'll be, you're wasting your time. Like I said at the wedding, I know what kind of man you are…" His voice trailed off, smiling a little as Matt lifted his head, giving his an odd look as he repeated the words.

"…The best kind."

"Bingo," Hiroaki grinned, getting up and grabbing his mug off the table, filling it again. Taking an experimental sip, he smirked back at his son. "It doesn't matter what the future holds, as long as you don't betray who you are, not for anyone's sake. You're the kind of person who cares for the people around him to the point that nothing else matters. When push comes to shove, you're willing to stand up for what you believe in, even if you have to do it on your own, and people admire you for that. You might not be the fearless leader type, but your compassion and caring is what people need in their lives. Sure, you're a little cold, but I'm not put off by it." Smiling, he took a sip of his coffee. "You just realize that you have to be strong for everyone else, that someone's always watching you for encouragement."

"But how does that make me father material?" Matt frowned, clearly confused, his coffee forgotten as he straightened up and looked over at his own father. "It sounds to me like the same speech Tai gave me at the bachelor's party." The thought of what happened after still sent a small spark up the back of his spine, but that was behind him now, and he could honestly say that Sora was a much better kisser, even drunk.

"So you've heard it already?" Hiroaki laughed a bit, seemingly put off and struggling to regain his bearings. "Well, it's a little different than with your friends. They see you as an equal, where as the child, well, it's like the relationship between you and T.K. when you two were growing up, on a much bigger scale. The admiration and pride that the youngster's gonna take in you are on an entirely different level. They're going to look to you for guidance on how to live their own life. Because of how dedicated you are to doing the right thing, I can't see how they wouldn't benefit. Honest, caring, and you're concerned about being good enough as a father. To me, that speaks volumes about your qualifications."

Yamato sat in silence as he digested his father's words, jumping a little as Hiroaki brought his hand down hard on his shoulder. Giving him a grin and a thumbs-up, Matt's old man quickly added, "Bring'em by to see me sometime and you can learn from a master what it takes to raise a child."

The two shared a long look before bursting into laughter, Matt rubbing at his eyes as memories of his father passing the buck of Takeru's changing duty over to Natsuko when they still lived together at Highton View Terrace. "Dad, you wouldn't even know what to do with the baby, you always made me or mom do it." Hiroaki shrugged a bit, still smiling and glad to see his son in higher spirits.

"Yamato, listen to me. Don't worry about becoming a father; I have no doubt in my mind that you'll succeed. Have confidence in yourself and be willing to compromise with Sora, and that will help with your other concern." Squeezing his son's shoulder, the older man gave a warm smile. "I can't say for sure if you two are going to make it, you're the only one that has any influence over that. But just because you're having a kid doesn't mean that it's the end of your life together, just the start of something new. Just be you. And bring the little squaller over to see me sometime, hmm? What's an old man got to look forward to outside of his kids and grandkids visiting?"

"Yeah, all right 'old timer'," Matt laughed again, slipping off the counter and walking for the door.

"Don't I at least get a goodbye?" Hiroaki called after him with a smirk slipping back onto his face.

"Not a chance!" his son called back, glancing over his shoulder with a grin of his own. "I'm planning on coming by for some coffee after dinner tomorrow night with Sora, I figure it's about time you learned your daughter-in-law isn't a Yagami."

Hiroaki chuckled a little as he emptied the remainder of Yamato's mug into the sink, wondering how he was going to get to sleep early enough to get into the news station the following morning.

"So, you had a good chat I take it?" Sora smiled a little as the door closed behind her husband, not bothering to look up from her magazine. She was rather comfortable on the couch, flipping through the pages, checking up on some of the latest fashions. Most people believed she wouldn't be caught dead modeling anything that wasn't designed to be athletically functional, but a girl did like to look pretty, even seven months into pregnancy. She gave a small sigh, which jumped an octave as she felt Matt's chilly hands start to massage her shoulders, the tiredness in her body giving way to contentment as his hands began to warm and kneed away the tension.

"Very," Matt said with a small smile, leaning down and pecking her on the cheek. "Hope you don't mind, but we're going over to see my dad tomorrow night, for coffee."

Rolling her eyes, Sora smiled. "You know I can't drink coffee when I'm pregnant. Why would you plan something like that?"

"Well, he's my father. I do own him something for raising me right. Besides, there's always a refreshing glass of water," he replied, laughing lightly and stopping the impromptu massage, sitting down beside her. She nestled into the curve of his body as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, before finally shedding some light onto one of her own recent insecurities.

"We'll be all right, won't we?"

Matt was quiet for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Of course. I don't plan on a baby coming in and changing everything. Just most."

With a small, if uncertain laugh, Sora squirmed a little closer, closing her eyes and letting the magazine drop to the floor. She could feel a difference in his attitude. The threat of the great unknown was still there, looming ever higher as they continued to approach it, but together, the two of them might stand a chance.

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Oh lol I wrote something, and posted the blasted thing. That was fun, mostly because I never EVER THINK of writing stories that have a Matt/Sora relationship. If you've got the time, drop me a line and tell me what you thought.


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